Town hall leaders have hit back at ministerial criticisms that they are not making full use of new powers to crack down on environmental crimes such as littering and dog fouling.

In a speech on February 27, environment minister Ben Bradshaw said he was 'disturbed' to hear that of the 20,000 fixed penalty notices issued in 2004/05, 8,000 (40%) were never paid.

Tar too many local authorities are treating fixed penalty notices as some kind of voluntary fining scheme - what kind of message does that send to the litterbugs and vandals?' Bradshaw said.

The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act, which comes into force in April, will boost councils' powers, allowing them to issue fines for a wider range of crimes.

Bradshaw urged town halls to make the most of these new powers. …